The Fifteenth Ovarian Workshop, "The Ovary: Signaling Mechanisms Regulating Development and Dysfunction," will be held 29-31 July 2004 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Ovarian Workshop provides a forum for interested clinicians, scientists, and students to exchange ideas and current concepts on the development, regulation, and maintenance of the ovary without regard to disciplinary boundaries. The Workshop promotes the presentation and exchange of ideas at the frontiers of research in female reproductive biology. The scientific program has evolved into an internationally respected conference attracting scientists from diverse backgrounds who share a common interest in understanding the function of cells in the ovary. The goal of the proposed meeting is to advance our understanding of ovarian function so that this basic knowledge can be translated to clinical applications to enhance or control fertility and to treat, reduce, and/or eliminate ovarian dysfunctions and cancer. The format of this Workshop expands on the theme of translational research that reaches from bench to bedside by incorporating new basic science together with clinically relevant issues and presentations by clinical scientists. The theme of the Workshop is cell signaling and functional consequences. The major topics to be covered are Gonadal Organization, Follicular Development, Ovulation and Corpus Luteum Formation, Steroidogenesis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Obesity and Insulin Resistance, Cytokine Signaling, Ovarian Germ Line Stem Cells, Ovarian Failure, Ovotoxicity and Ovarian Cancer. The program will be high lighted by two keynote addresses and poster sessions related to the theme of the Workshop. New investigators will be invited to submit expanded abstracts that will be evaluated for scientific merit and competition for travel awards and the Cornelia P. Channing New Investigator Award.